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The Troll Wars
The grand scale invasion of Bandagora by trold folk in 1105, ending with the breaking of the siege of Kangrisorn in 1110. The invasion had already been predicted in 350 by the Pellan seer Ardsil, who received a vision from Heimdal that bade him gather his people and journey to the "far" lands to prepare the defense of Bandagora against a strong external enemy. This external enemy would not strike, however, before an internal enemy had grown strong. The "far" lands was later called the High Lands. The internal enemy was Ogonjok according to the Kilaan, and the external enemy turned out to be trold folk assisted by trolls and orcs. After the destruction of the Ring of Madness (see also the New Sun Lands Crusade), the horn of Heimdal sounded: Bandagora was invaded, and the objective was Kangrisorn. The High Lands had prepared and bore the brunt of the initial attack. The stalwart Kilaan defense denied the trold folk access to Bandagora proper for 18 months, but in January 1107 the last perimeter of the Twin Peaks fortifications fell and Hardnit became the new battlefield. The Kilaan resistance had bought enough time for the other countries to mobilize, and the Pandese sent four legions led by Emperor Hardaukar. The trold folk reinforcements kept arriving seemingly without end. There was no stopping them, but the Elvenstar protected Enkisborg, saving some part of Hardnit. By August 1108 the trold folk had cut a swathe through Hardnit and conquered Karanas, the fortress guarding Hardnit's eastern border to Enders. After a few probes, the trold folk bypassed the city of Enders. At the battle of Tirskil Ford, near the main temple of Sif, the alliance of Hardnit, Enders, Falandria, Penboyn and the Pandese Empire paid dearly to halt the trold folk advance. The plan was to gain sufficient time so that Dambergard could be prepared for a long siege. But the hopes of turning the Felendar river into a defensive barrier were dashed as a severe winter had frozen the Felendar and Kalevig, allowing the trold horde to bypass Dambergard without impediment. In 1109 things looked bleak for the alliance. The only thing that would slow the trold folk down was plunder. At fortified Losada the alliance posted most of their remaining forces hoping to entice the trold horde to attack, but the numerous trold folk could detach a besieging army and still march on Kangrisorn. At Kangrisorn the Ontaine attacked the trold folk, if Kangrisorn could not be theirs, at least it should remain on human hands. But still this only slowed the progress, it did not stop it. Finally, on March 10th 1110 the tide of war began to turn, the heroes of the Ring Saga had repaired the Ring of Madness, allowing Heimdal to reestablish contact with His priests. This was the moment Duke Skanderbeg and the High Lands regiment had been waiting for. They sallied from Kangrisorn routing the trold folk. As if by magic the Troll Wars was over, the trold folk army had lost their backbone and their leadership. It took several years to rid the civilized countries of trold folk, and small bands are still at large in Hardnit and Falandria. Phases: Phase I (August 1105 to January 1107): The High Lands Though quite a few individuals joined the fight to throw out the invaders, only the Dwarven Nation sent assistance to Rit-Kilaan. So the Kilaan faced the trold folk more or less on their own in the initial stages of the war. As Heimdal used His divine essence temporarily holding together the remnants of the Ring of Madness, his priests no longer received any spells, severely hampering the might of the Kilaan military, and ruled out any offensive warfare on their part. Instead, Ilandris was defended in the hope that the trold folk would give up and bypass the city. Before the trold folk surrounded Ilandris, most of the high-ranking clergy were evacuated to Istivin, the fortress-like smaller city in the mountains. After half a year's siege, Ilandris was overrun. Then the trold folk moved to the final barrier, the Twin Peaks fortifications guarding the pass to Palmyria and Miralandor. After heavy fighting, this bastion fell in January 1107. After gaining control of the road through Dagdor, the trold folk tried to negotiate passage south of Arhana through Palmyria. Palmyrian forces denied them access, and though Palmyria probably wouldn't have withstood a prolonged siege, the trold folk armies decided against this approach, instead taking one of the remaining Kilaan fortresses, Ritsai, that controlled a smaller pass through Skitaura. Though these lesser mountain paths would force the trold folk to move in smaller units, with the Twin Peaks in their grasp, there would be few opportunities for the enemy to take advantage of this. In the coming years, there would be a steady stream of reinforcements coming from Seslaya and beyond, and these would arrive through Ritsai. After the first phase of the war, the Kilaan were reduced to harassing the trold folk as they passed through their lands. The Kilaan would not play a major role again until the very last day of the Troll Wars. Phase II (January 1107 to May 1108) Hardnit When the trold folk had defeated the High Lands, the nations around the Inner Sea began realizing the danger of the invasion. They would not mount any real efforts to counter the trold folk armies in this phase, however, and like the Kilaan before them, the citizens of Hardnit more or less fought them alone. Only the Pandese Empire sent troops to assist them. King Hendrick I failed to form a cohesive national army, instead leaving the defense to be conducted by local leaders, notably Count Kelvin and Lord (later Baron) Arno. For several months, it looked as if the Brindan river could serve as a defensive barrier, but finally the trold folk established a bridgehead in Konhuldra in late 1107. From then on, the tactics changed, and the Hardnitian now hoped to cut off and surround groups of trold folk. Though this approach had some success, the supply of trold folk seemed endless, and the invaders managed to carve out and hold a corridor through Hardnit. As the Kilaan before them, the Hardnitians were now mainly reduced to pinprick operations against less organized targets. Technically, they would be part of the Alliance, but they contributed with few troops outside Hardnit. Phase III (May 1108 to February 1109) The Alliance As the defeat of Hardnit became evident, the neighboring countries began reacting. Finally, in April of 1108, Penboyn, Enders, Falandria, Hardnit, and the Pandese Empire would commit to a defensive alliance. Under the auspices of this alliance, mainly Penboynian knights and Endorian mercenaries along with King Hendrick's personal troops defeated a trold folk army hoping to capture Servan. Emboldened by their success, the Alliance held Servan, thinking that perhaps the tide might be stemmed after all. The trold folk, however, disabused them of that notion by simply moving onward and, in August 1108, conquering the relatively well-defended Fort Karanas on the road to Enders. Using the merchant fleet, the Alliance forces now redeployed their main forces in Enders, leaving only King Hendrick's men in Servan. Enders was a much greater prize, and though once built as a harbor fortress, it had expanded to the point that it would be rather hard to defend. Luckily for the Alliance, merchants and adventurers were willing to put up a strong defense, and the few feelers the trold folk tried to test the resilience of the city were readily dealt with in force. With Karanas as its way station, the trold folk army marched around Enders, approaching Falandria. Gathering their forces, the Alliance hoped to make the Felendar river a barrier the trold folk couldn't cross. But winter came early 1108, and as 1109 began, the lands were in the grips of the cruel Finduil-winter, freezing even the great Kalevig south of Dambergard. Kalevig's western sister, the Hardevig, was still ice-free, forcing the trold folk army to cross the Tirskil at Sifsborg, the main temple of Sif. This would be where the Alliance would turn back the trold folk. Led by Emperor Hardaukar, the Alliance made their stand at Sifsborg as wave after wave of trold folk broke upon their defenses. Finally the trold folk retreated, the Alliance forces had held. But not by much.It was a hollow victory, losses had been all too great, and the Alliance would not engage in another large scale battle. Not long after, as new trold folk forces arrived, the trold folk crossed the Kalevig, walking over the ice, largely unopposed. Phase IV (February 1109 to January 1110) Penboyn. See timeline .